A man who was convicted of child molestation after an "Oprah" show prodded a teenage girl to report him received a 20-year prison sentence and some stern words from a Cobb County judge. Adrian DeShawn Burney, 38, was convicted on March 7 of two counts of child molestation. According to an announcement from Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds, Burney had lived with the victim at the time … [Read more...]

State investigators found dozens of instances in which the addresses of homes under DCF matched those of Level 2 and 3 sex offenders, according to an audit released today that found the state’s child welfare agency does not screen for whether sex offenders live in a foster home’s neighborhood, does a shoddy job of keeping records on the background checks it performs on foster parents, and lags in … [Read more...]

There's growing tension in Connecticut between parents and guardian ad litem lawyers or GALs, who are appointed to represent minor children in child custody cases. The lawyers have been criticized for charging high fees for their services without any oversight. Some critics have even said they are almost all family law attorneys who have an incentive to keep the cases going. Earlier this month, … [Read more...]

Susan Ferris went into Sacramento family court hoping to win custody of her 14-year-old daughter. She left without her girl and without most of her disability income. The Sacramento Superior Court judge said his ruling was driven by his suspicion that Ferris helped her daughter run away from her father. But prominent San Francisco attorney James Brosnahan argues that the decision resulted from … [Read more...]

When Laurie Duker first began her work with the Montgomery County District Court, she was just a volunteer. But after becoming a victim advocate for the social services system, Duker couldn’t believe the issues she continuously witnessed. “I worked with about 1,000 women,” Duker said, “and the same problems kept coming.” System inadequacies inspired Duker to become more involved. Now, she is … [Read more...]